ML Reveal Week
by Leisey
Summary: All my stories for the ML reveal week over on tumblr. Each chapter will be a different fic from the prompts.
1. Day 1: Night and Day

_Hi everyone!_

 _Anyone who's read my ML fics knows I'm reveal trash, so how could I resist reveal week? I'm a bit late because I've been travelling, but I will get the week finished. Also, I'm really jet lagged right now, so I apologise if there's typos._

 _I've decided to put them all in one fic, just with different chapters for each fic. I didn't want to post a new fic for each day._

 _I hope you enjoy Day 1: Fluff. Please let me know what you thought in the reviews._

 _Much love,_

 _Leisey._

* * *

 **Night and Day**

* * *

Chat Noir always loved the night.

Night was when he patrolled with Ladybug, and when the two superheroes hung out on the Eiffel Tower once they knew their city was safe. Night was when he met up with Marinette on her balcony, too shy to approach her in the day as Adrien. Or she was too shy around his civilian self. Either way, the night was when they connected.

Falling for Marinette happened slowly. It occurred so gradually that Adrien didn't even know he was falling until he looked at her, her eyes lit up in mirth at a joke he'd pulled, her mouth curled into a smile, and he was struck with the realisation.

 _Oh_ , he'd thought. _Oh, I love her._

His heart, which he thought belonged to Ladybug, had changed owners without him realising it. His Lady would always hold a special place in it. She was his first love, after all. But Marinette enraptured him, pulled him in with every smile, eye roll, head scratch and kiss. With every heartfelt conversation, where she would give him her undivided attention, no matter what time he turned up on her balcony.

Where Ladybug was fire, passion and freedom, Marinette was warmth, comfort and _home_ …And Adrien was so far gone, it was ridiculous.

As his relationship with Marinette changed, so did his one with Ladybug. Gone was his flirting and hand kisses; he reserved those for his Princess. Instead, there was still his puns, and a friendship that only solidified every time he and his superhero partner hung out together.

That said, he kept calling her 'My Lady.' Ladybug was stuck with that name. However, the feeling behind it was gone. It was simply a nickname for his best friend...aside from Nino, of course.

So he had a best friend he fought supernatural butterflies with, and a...well, he and Marinette hadn't labelled what they were to each other, but he liked to think she was his girlfriend.

And who best to gush about his probably-girlfriend than his best friend, Ladybug?

So on a clear and calm Parisian night, he and Ladybug sat perched on the Eiffel Tower, patrol done with and basked in a comfortable silence.

It was a night like this one, cloudless and illuminated by the full moon, when he'd first kissed Marinette. Struck by that thought, Chat let out a dreamy sigh.

"And what brought _that_ on?" Ladybug asked, from her position across from him. She sat leaning against one of the beams of the Tower, her legs stretched out in front of her. It was the first time one of them had spoken in ten minutes, and she was waiting for an answer with an expectant expression and a raised eyebrow.

Chat was perched similarly to his partner. He leant against the Tower, one leg hanging off and swinging, the other raised so he could rest his arm on his knee. At his Lady's question, he grinned widely and couldn't help the delighted laughter that bubbled out of his chest.

"Oh, Bug," he said, "I am in love."

Ladybug started in surprise. "O-oh, really?"

Chat nodded, too caught up in his feelings for his probably-hopefully-girlfriend to notice his Lady's strange reaction. "Marinette is so beautiful and kind. She's so nice to all our classmates, and she's so talented; you should see her clothes designs!"

"Wait! Wait! She's in your _class_?"

"Yeah, but she's always nervous around me. Well, actually no, not so much anymore. Not since I started getting closer to her as Chat, anyway. She _used_ to be super nervous and tongue tied around me, but that's stopped. I kind of miss it, in a weird way; it was adorable."

Lost in his thoughts of Marinette, Chat missed the look of realisation dawning on his Lady's face. However, he didn't miss the bright flash of pink that meant Ladybug's transformation had come undone.

He slammed his eyes shut and covered them with his hands. He hadn't seen anything, thankfully, but that came out of _nowhere_. The shock of it sent his heart racing and he was more than a little alarmed when he asked, "My Lady, what happened?!"

There was no frantic conversation with her kwami, or any kind of panic at all. Instead, there was a very familiar voice that said, "Chat Noir... _Adrien_ , please look at me."

The surprise at hearing _that_ voice say his civilian name was enough for him to drop his hands and open his eyes. Gone was his Lady and in her place sat his Princess, a pink bug-like kwami floating at her shoulder. Without the magic of the miraculous protecting her identity, it was easy to see the similarities between the two. It was easy to tell that it was Marinette who had spoken, and not his spotted partner.

"Marinette...you're Ladybug," Chat said in wonder, a large grin forming on his face.

"And you're Adrien," she replied, smiling just as much as him. "It wasn't hard to figure out; there was only ever one person in our class that I was a bumbling fool around."

He let his transformation go. Plagg surged out of his ring and floated over to the other kwami. "Hey, Tikki. Long time no see."

"Nice to see you again, Plagg," the good luck kwami greeted, before frowning in concern. "But we should retransform. It isn't safe for them to be their civilian selves here."

"You're just as big of a worrywart as ever."

" _Plagg_."

Adrien watched in wonder as his kwami sighed and said, "Tik's right. You two should suit up."

For once, Adrien wasn't in a rush to be Chat Noir. "Not just yet," he disagreed, shaking his head. "I want to be Adrien for this conversation."

"As much as I agree with you," Marinette said, "it's cold up here without our suits and I'd feel more secure in my spots. But if you're looking for a place to talk, I know a nice balcony that could work."

Adrien grinned and called out for his transformation. When he finished, he saw that Ladybug was standing across from him.

"It's so obvious now," he said. "How could I not see it?"

Ladybug— _Marinette, holy crap, she's Marinette_ —shrugged. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is that there's a very important conversation for us to have." He drew breath to reply, but she beat him to it with an exuberant, "Race you there, _Chaton_!"

She swung off into the night and grinning widely, he followed suit.

Ladybug didn't go straight to her home. Instead, she led him on a merry chase throughout the city. He nearly caught her numerous times, but she managed to stay out of reach. All he got from his efforts were giggles and trash talk for being too slow.

Their laughter echoed around the city, and many a civilian cheered and took photos as they went past. Chat was sure that many of them would end up on the Ladyblog by the next morning.

They reached the balcony above her bedroom at the same time and detransformed in a wave of laughter, filled with adrenaline from their impromptu game of tag.

Adrien didn't even stop to think. He stepped close to Marinette and drew her in for a kiss, savouring the surprised squeak she made when he did. Her lips were soft and familiar and he lost himself to them.

They had kissed numerous times as Marinette and Chat Noir, but this was different. This was them coming together with no secrets in the way. This was them finally seeing the full picture. Finally knowing who was under the masks.

Their kiss ended, but they didn't move from each other's arms. This was the moment, Adrien knew. The moment to have that important conversation they both needed to have, and to put all their feelings on the table.

But where to begin?

Before he could say a word, Marinette beat him to it. "I was such a stuttering mess around you because I had a giant crush on you," she blurted out.

He blinked. Once, twice, three times. Well, he wasn't expecting that, but it was a good a place as any to start. "And the reason you _stopped_ being a stuttering mess?"

She smiled. "A black cat started turning up at my balcony and made me fall for him instead. I didn't act like a mess around him because he was my best friend and partner, but I fell all the same."

He leant in to nuzzle her neck. "The black cat started coming because he wanted to know more about the cute girl in his class. Cats are curious creatures, you know."

"And satisfaction brought it back?"

"And back, and back, and back, and back. I could never be satisfied of you, Princess."

Yes, Adrien always loved the night. Especially nights like that one, where they exchanged kiss after mind blowing kiss. But the next morning, when Marinette greeted him with the same thing on the school stairs, regardless of the incredulous stares of their classmates, he found he loved the day just as much.


	2. Day 2: It was Kind of an Accident

_Hi everyone._

 _I'm still pretty jet lagged, so I apologise again if there's typos._

 _Here's 'Day 2: Accident,' and I hope you enjoy it. I haven't finished Day 3 yet, but I will get it up as soon as I can._

 _Much love,_

 _Leisey._

* * *

 **It was Kind of an Accident**

* * *

She supposed it was only a matter of time. Sooner or later, she was bound to figure out the identity of her partner. That was a given. A fact of life she had long since accepted. She wasn't happy about it, but she knew that it would eventually happen.

That didn't mean she was ready to walk in on _Chat Noir turning into Adrien Agreste_!

Adrien looked horrified; the kwami floating at his shoulder just looked highly amused.

"Oh my god, Marinette," Adrien was as white as a sheet. "Did you—did you _see_?"

Her eyes drifted from his face, to the cat-like kwami and back. Wordlessly, she nodded.

Adrien put his head in his hands. " _Oh my god._ "

What was she even supposed to say in this situation? She felt like screaming. Her crush was her partner! What the hell?

"Oh my god," she whispered.

"Oh my god," he echoed.

" _Oh my god._ "

"Oh _my_ god! Ladybug's gonna kill me!"

The mention of her superhero name brought her out of her stupor. "Huh?"

Adrien didn't hear her. He had his hands in his hair and looked moments from starting to pull it out. "She is not going to be impressed! She going to be so mad!" To Marinette's amazement, he started pacing as he continued to freak out. "She knows you, I know, but she's gonna be so mad! Oh my god, we don't have a plan for this!"

It seemed like Adrien was doing all the panicking for her; she had never seen him look quite so undone. She wanted to scream and freak out, but Adrien was (unknowingly) not giving her the chance. All her thoughts were screaming, _Comfort him!_ She could panic later.

There was only one thing to do. One thing to say that would stop him from worrying about what she had just seen.

She took a deep breath. "Adrien, it's okay. I'm L-"

He whirled on her and grabbed her shoulders. "Marinette!" He sounded desperate. "You can't tell anyone, do you understand?! It's not safe!"

"Of course I won't," she replied automatically. "But, Adrien, it's alright, I'm La-"

"Thank you, Marinette!" Adrien had gone from panicked to delighted. "You're the best! I have to go right now because Natalie and the Gorilla are waiting, but thank you so much! I'll talk to you about this later, okay?"

He then crushed her to him in a hug, grabbed his kwami and rushed from the room, leaving Marinette to stare after him in bewilderment.

"...What just happened?!"

* * *

Marinette paced in her bedroom. "Okay, okay. Adrien is Chat Noir. That's okay. I can accept that. Okay...okay...okay…"

Tikki watched her worriedly from her perch on the desk. "Marinette, are you…alright?"

"I'm fine! I'm so fine. I'm totally okay. So what if Adrien is Chat? That's okay. Okay. Everything is okay. Everything is _one hundred percent totally okay."_

If she kept repeating it, she'd believe it, right?

"Marinette—"

"He didn't let me panic!" She exclaimed. "I saw him, he freaked out, I said I wouldn't tell, he looked super happy, _hugged me_ and left! There was no time to panic!"

Tikki watched her charge wear a track in the carpet. "And this is you panicking!"

"Yes! God, Tikki, I didn't mean to see it, but I did and now I can't unsee it and _oh my god,_ _he's Chat_ and I can't ev—

"Marinette, _breathe_."

She took a deep breath and then continued to freak out. "What do I do?! I have to tell him! I have to, that's only fair. But so much could go wrong if we knew our identities. What if Hawkmoth finds out? What if Paris found out and didn't trust teenagers to protect them? We'd be shunned, we'd have to leave the city, move somewhere unknown, change our names and grow old in the middle of nowhere!"

"Marinette," Tikki said patiently. "That's not going to happen."

"But it could!"

"No, it's not. Ladybugs' and Chat Noirs' of the past have revealed themselves and nothing has gone wrong. Plagg—Chat's kwami—and I just advise against it in the beginning, because you're still getting used to your powers. You don't need the added distraction of identities. But now the two of you have experience and can reveal yourselves if you want."

Marinette huffed in annoyance. "Well, I _tried_ to tell him who I was, but the stupid cat wouldn't let me! He just bulldozed over what I was going to say and hugged me! Tikki, he _hugged_ me. It was quick, but it was so nice and—" she cut herself off with a strangled gasp.

"What's wrong?" Tikki asked.

" _I've kissed him!"_ Marinette shrieked. "I've kissed _Adrien_! He's Chat, and then on Valentine's Day, I had to kiss him to break the spell!" She thought over the class she'd had that day, that gave her the idea to kiss him in the first place. "Tikki, that was _true love's kiss_!"

"Oh, Marinette," Tikki sighed, looking at her fondly. "You're only just realising that?"

"I love him," she said, feeling awed at the realisation. "I love Chat—Adrien—both of them—I mean _him_. Urgh, secret identities are hard."

Adrien and Chat Noir merged together in her mind. They became one full picture of a blonde haired, green eyed boy who had a penchant for puns and an annoying tendency to throw himself in harm's way to protect her.

Without her feelings for Adrien blinding her, it was amazing to see how much of her heart she had given Chat Noir without realising it.

"That stupid cat," she muttered. "Revealing himself just made me fall for him all the more."

"Speaking of," Tikki said, looking up when they heard the distinct sound of someone landing on her balcony. "You've got a visitor." Without another word, the kwami hid herself.

Marinette followed Tikki's gaze to see Chat Noir coming to tap at her trap door. She clambered up to it and let him in. Silently, Chat slipped down into her room and detransformed. His kwami floated off without a word; no doubt to go find out where Tikki was hiding.

His transformation awed her as much the second time as it did the first.

"Adrien," she said, and then paused, wanting to say more but having no idea where to begin.

He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a sheepish smile. "Hey, Princess."

There was a distant part of her that was absolutely screaming that _Adrien Agreste_ called her that, but she was focused on telling him who she was.

"I'm-" she began.

"I-" he started at the same time.

They both flushed and Marinette gestured for him to continue. "You go first."

He shuffled his feet, clearly trying to gather his thoughts. "I—uh—said I'd talk to you later, right?"

She blinked. That wasn't the beginning of the conversation she was expecting, but she'd go with it. She gave him a wry smile. "Yes, but I was expecting a text or something, not Chat Noir to turn up on my balcony."

He froze and she instantly regretted her words. "Should—should I have not come?" He asked.

Marinette grabbed him, to comfort him or keep him from running off, she wasn't sure. "No! No! Adrien, you're always welcome here. _Always_. Whenever you need, I'm always here to talk."

Her partner relaxed, his gaze turning soft and a smile lighting up his face. "Thank you, Marinette."

"I'm so glad it's you," she said, beaming at him. "But—just—how do you do it?"

The question came unbidden from her lips. That wasn't what she was supposed to say. She was supposed to tell him she was Ladybug. But once she'd asked it, she couldn't deny she was curious to hear the answer.

He frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Adrien, you have to be the busiest person I know. How do you manage to save the city on top of everything else you do?"

He shrugged. "I find time. Sometimes I have to slip away from things and school is a nightmare, but I do it for Paris."

She didn't know why she expected any other answer from him. It was the same one she would have given. They were heroes; saving people was what they did, no matter the stress it out on their personal lives.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this, though," he went on. "It's going to be dangerous."

"Adrien, it's fine, really—"

"But whatever happens, I'll protect you. I won't let anything happen to you, Marinette."

That stupid, oblivious cat. His words brought a blush to her cheeks, but he wasn't giving her an opportunity to tell him who she was.

"Well, Ladybug and I won't let anything happen to you," he amended. "She won't be happy that I got myself caught, but she'll understand that it was an accident."

She raised her eyebrows. Well, _that_ was certainly a far cry from how he'd reacted that afternoon. He must have calmed down since she last saw him.

"Speaking of which, it's nearly time for me to meet Ladybug for patrol," he said.

Marinette jolted and checked the time; he was right. She had to tell him now, or he'd run off on her again.

But before she say anything, he wrapped her up in another hug. "Thanks for keeping my secret, Marinette. Sorry for burdening you with it."

 _Really, Chaton?_ She thought, exasperated. _Just let me say it!_

She drew breath to speak, but Adrien shocked her into silence by pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. Marinette stilled in his arms and heat flushed in her cheeks.

She could tell the exact moment Adrien realised what he'd done, because he recoiled from her as if struck. "I'm sorry!" He cried, blushing. "I didn't realise what I was doing! My brain just kind of stopped and you're really cute and oh god, I'm going to go—" He turned, frantically searching the room for his kwami. No doubt to transform and get out of there as fast as he could.

Well, she wasn't going to give him that chance.

"Tikki!" Marinette called, as she grabbed Adrien and spun him back around to face her. She ignored the confused "huh?" he let out and hugged him. Into his ear, she whispered what she knew would change their relationship for good. " _Transform me_."

The power of the miraculous washed over her and in an instant, she was standing there in her spots. Marinette pulled back to give her partner a wide smile, silently revelling in his gobsmacked expression.

"I'll keep your secret, if you keep mine, _Chaton_ ," she said.

Adrien was silent, simply gaping at her as he tried to get over his shock. " _Marinette_ ," he eventually whispered, sounding awestruck. "It's _you_."

She let her transformation go and nodded. "That's what I've been trying to tell you, but you weren't giving me the chance."

"I—you—Princess—Ladybug— _holy shit_."

Marinette grinned. "You alright there, _Chaton_?"

He shook his head and let out an ecstatic laugh. A carefree, delighted, incredulous laugh. However, instead of answering her question, he tilted his head and leant in to give her a kiss.

Marinette froze, but quickly got over it and responded eagerly. Much like when he'd kissed her forehead moments before, she could tell the moment he realised what he'd done. He tensed and pulled back, spluttering apologies, but Marinette wasn't going to let him get away that easy.

"Get back here, Chat Noir," she said, chasing his lips.

"Marinette—My Lady—I'm sorry, I should have asked—"

"Adrien, _please_ stop talking and kiss me," she cut him off.

His protests and apologies stopped abruptly. "As My Lady wishes," he said, after he'd taken a moment to compose himself. His voice was low and utterly _Chat Noir,_ that Marinette had to resist the urge to shiver.

It was hard to kiss one another when they were smiling too much to do it properly, but they tried their best. However, they eventually found a rhythm and soon lost count of how many kisses they exchanged and how long they stayed in each other's arms

When they arrived at school the next morning, hand in hand and looking utterly besotted, they only had one answer to the inevitable question of how that happened:

"…It was kind of an accident."


	3. Day 3: Glory

_*Loud, tired groaning from Australia*_

 _Hi everyone._

 _I struggled so hard with this fic. Why can't fics write themselves? I'm not even sure I like this, but I hope you do. Please let me know what you thought in the comments._

 _And yes, that's totally a Hamilton lyric in there, because I'm Hamilton trash and was listening to the soundtrack as I was writing this. Also, I (once again) apologise for typos, cause it's super late here and I'm sure I missed heaps when I was reading back over this._

 _I hope you enjoy my response to 'Day 3: Reluctant.'_

 _Much love,_

 _Leisey._

* * *

 **Glory**

* * *

It was hard to believe, but Chat Noir didn't want to know who was under his Lady's mask.

He _used_ to. He used to want it more than anything else in the world, but now...now he was scared to. There was too much pressure with a reveal. Reality could never live up to the expectations.

And yet, he and Ladybug were being told to reveal themselves.

They were at Fu's shop. Ladybug had brought him there, saying the Great Guardian had something important he needed to talk to them about. Although, judging by the look on her face, his partner wasn't expecting this development either.

Or perhaps she wasn't expecting his adamant refusal to go through with it.

"Chat, what's wrong?" She asked, clearly concerned. "You've _always_ wanted to share our identities."

He shook his head. "I don't–not anymore."

"But why, though?" She pressed.

"Why do you want to know? You've _never_ wanted to reveal ourselves."

That gave Ladybug pause; whatever she was about to say died in her throat. She glanced at Master Fu, took a moment to collect herself and went on. "I know I didn't, but if the Great Guardian is saying we should, then we should at least think about it."

"I don't suggest this lightly," Master Fu said. "Your battle with Hawk Moth is getting harsher. It has reached a point where anonymity is no longer a luxury you can afford."

The two superheroes frowned at the him. "What do you mean?" Ladybug asked, sounding as uncertain as Chat felt.

"If something happens to either of you, it is best to know who is behind the mask," Fu explained.

All possible worst-case scenarios flashed through Chat's head. "What do you mean ' _something'_? Do you mean we could die? I'm not afraid to die."

" _Chat_!" Ladybug looked like a strange mix of mortified, exasperated and scared. "Don't talk like that!"

It was a blatant lie. Chat Noir was afraid to lose his life…in fact, he was more like terrified. He had too much to live for to die. He had a distant relationship with his father and the strange Aunt and Uncle—babysitter—work colleagues'—relationship with Natalie and the Gorilla. He had the friendship of everyone in his class and the love of the girl with the fierce blue eyes and dark pigtails.

He clung to those relationships as hard as he could. He didn't want to give them up and didn't want to die before getting the chance to explore and expand them. But even still, he was Chat Noir; he had a duty to the city. If he had to lay down his life in order to do that, so be it.

Chat looked at his partner, a strange sort of resolution settling over his shoulders. He'd protect her, no matter the cost. She was the one that could fix everything; she was the one that could bring peace back to Paris.

"Don't even think about it!" She snapped at him.

That caught him off guard. "Huh?"

"If you sacrifice yourself for me, _Chaton_ , I will bring you back and no 'Miraculous Ladybug' will _ever_ be able to fix what I do to you. We don't do sacrifices. We work together and we get the job done."

"Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder," Fu said sagely. "While I respect your bravery and resolve to protect your partner, there is no glory in dying like a martyr. There is glory in living and growing old with those you love." He paused to smile as Wayzz came to nuzzle his cheek. "So put aside such unpleasant notions; we are here to talk of far happier things."

"Like revealing our identities?" Chat asked.

Fu nodded.

"I don't like this idea," his partner said. "But I can where you're coming from, Master Fu. What do you think, Chat Noir?"

He shook his head. "I'm not doing it."

"Why not?" Ladybug wanted to know.

"The expectation is too much."

She frowned, confused. "What? You think you won't live up to my expectations? Chat, you're gonna be perfect. You're my best friend and I'm going to love you, regardless of whoever you are."

He shook his head again, closing his eyes with a grimace. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what is it?"

"I'm _scared_."

Ladybug approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Chat," she said, her voice warm and comforting. "What is it? Let me help."

Chat took a deep breath. He should do it now; do it quickly, like ripping off a band aid. He had to tell her. _Do it now_. Do it now, do it now, do it—

He let his transformation go and Plagg came soaring out of his ring to float at his shoulder. "My name is Adrien Agreste, and I'm really scared you're not Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he confessed.

Shock was plastered onto Ladybug's features and Master Fu looked pleased; both him and Wayzz nodded at Adrien to continue.

Now that he had said it, the words just seemed to flow out of him. "I love Marinette. Do you remember I told you I started dating a girl in my class? She's so beautiful; god, Ladybug, she's beautiful. She's so kind and she's got these blue eyes that I swear I drown in every time she looks at me. And her smile! I could write poems about her smile. I mean, I _have_ written poems about her smile…not that I've given her them, because they're not that great and she deserves Shakespeare and sonnets, not simple four-line stanzas."

"Adrien," Ladybug whispered.

"But the closer we got, the more I saw her in you—or I saw you in her?—I mean, I saw you in each other. I'd see Marinette's kindness when you comforted an akuma victim; I saw Ladybug's courage when she stood up to Chloé. The similarities just kept piling up and I kept thinking, 'What if Marinette is Ladybug?'"

"Adrien." Her voice was louder; firmer.

"But I didn't want to know who was under your mask, because now I had this expectation. I had this dream that Marinette was you, and that just wasn't fair to you at all. Because you're my best friend, but whoever you are under there, I would be thinking of Marin—"

Ladybug detransformed in a wave of pink and his girlfriend was standing in front of him. "Adrien," Marinette said. "It's me."

He barely noticed when tears started streamed down his face. "Mari, you're Ladybug. I knew—I did—but to see it—"

"Hey, hey," she said soothingly, reaching up to cup his cheek and wipe away his tears. "It's okay. Why are you crying?"

He sniffed. "I'm just so happy, and relieved. I felt so bad because I wanted it to be you, but that wasn't fair to whoever was under Ladybug's mask."

Marinette smiled. "Oh, _Chaton_ , you don't need to worry about that anymore. You found me; you saw me under the mask and you saw me without it."

Whatever else she was about to say was lost as he leant in and kissed her. Adrien was sure it wasn't a great kiss, tear-stained and runny-nosed as he was, but Marinette didn't seem to mind. She responded eagerly, and pulled him closer to her.

Adrien went willingly, his mind repeating one incredible, _miraculous_ , thought: _Marinette is Ladybug, Marinette is Ladybug, Marinette is Ladybug_ …

Caught up in each other as they were, they didn't notice the Great Guardian and his turtle-like kwami watching them proudly.

"I told you they were made for each other," Fu said.

"No one likes a gloater, Master."


	4. Day 4: How to get Flustered and Knock

_OH MY GOD THIS FIC WOULD NEVER END._

 _Shoutout to Livinglittlelie, for giving me the idea for this fic in the first place, and to her and wonderfulwizardofthozz, for helping me pick a title for it. We got up to like 44 suggestions (which I will list at the end.)_

 _But for real though, this fic just kept going. It's also like 4am here right now, so I'm sorry if my tired brain has missed any typos._

 _This is my response for Day 4: Comedic. I hope you like it!_

 _Much love,_

 _Leisey._

* * *

 **How to get Flustered and Knock Yourself Out: A Guide by Chat Noir**

* * *

Chat Noir had fucked up.

Okay, so running over rooftops without using his staff clearly wasn't the smartest thing to do. Honestly, if he hadn't had been trying out new parkour moves, this whole situation could have been avoided in the first place. Unfortunately, he _had_ been testing out said moves, he _had_ fallen and he _had_ landed right on top of his Lady as she detransformed in an alleyway.

"I didn't see anything!" He cried, as a surprised Marinette Dupain-Cheng stared up at him. "Fuck! I saw something! And _ow_ , that hurt. Oh my god, are you okay?!"

He'd landed on her in a tangle of limbs, unable to look away in time as a flash of pink turned his partner into his shy classmate. She was lying on the ground, staring up at him wide-eyed, and he was positioned over her, holding himself up by his arms. It was a state they'd found themselves in numerous times when battling akumas, but this was 100% _totally different, oh my god_ —

"Chat," she whispered slowly, as if still trying to come to terms with the fact that he'd just seen her transform into her civilian identity. "I'm fine. I'm—I'm—"

"Marinette," he said, a smile creeping onto his face. "Marinette! You're Marinette!"

Chat let out a delighted laugh and leapt to his feet, pulling her up with him. Not expecting the sudden pull, Marinette stumbled as she stood, letting out a small, "Oof!"

Chat caught her and spun her around, still laughing exuberantly. "It's you! It's you, it's you, it's you! It's,"—He grabbed her by the shoulders, his expression turning indignant—" _you_!"

"W-what?"

"You weren't on a secret mission at all! You just said that because you had to be your civilian self around Nathaniel!"

Marinette's shocked expression slowly morphed into a small smile. "Well, yes."

Embarrassment flooded through him and a blush burnt his cheeks. "I said you could be my Ladybug."

He could tell she was still coming to terms with the reveal, but his ever-resilient Lady replied, "I _am_ your Ladybug."

Chat put his head in his hands. "Oh my god, let me die."

"You okay there, _Chaton_?"

He sunk to the ground and curled up in a little ball. "Nooooooo."

Marinette leaned over him, looking down at her partner in amusement. "I just got my identity revealed, shouldn't I be the mortified one?"

He perked up at that, looking up at her in confusion. "In what world is you being Marinette Dupain-Cheng mortifying? Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a superhero, even without the spots."

"I—what?"

"And then there's me: the awkward cat and I called you Princess and flexed and oh my god, let me die."

"Chat—"

He slumped on the ground again. "Hey, Chat Noir, what did you do today?" He asked himself. "Oh, nothing much. I just found out that my Lady is literally the coolest person ever under her mask and then died because of it."

"You're not dead," she told him, trying to fight a grin.

"I'm dead," he replied. "I'm so dead. All nine lives—gone!"

"All because you found out who I am?"

He looked at her incredulously. "Do you even know how awesome you are? You're _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_. Like, _wow_ , you're Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"You know me?"

"I know who you are," he said, eyes shining earnestly. "I've always known who you are; you're my best friend. I just know you even better now. You're Marinette and you're Ladybug; two awesome girls rolled into one."

The grin she'd been fighting turned into a full-blown smile. "Thank you, _Chaton_."

A streak of pink flashed past his eyes and then a ladybug-like kwami was floating between them. "I'm sorry to interrupt," the creature said. "But perhaps this would be a conversation better had somewhere other than an alleyway?"

Chat and Marinette shared a look, a wordless conversation passing between them. A moment passed and then Chat grinned, bowing low to her. "Care to take this elsewhere, my Lady?"

"I know a place that has good cookies, if you'd like to go there."

"You know what they say about feeding strays, _Buginette_."

Her expression turned fond. "Yes, but it's okay if it's my favourite cat that sticks around."

Heat rushed to Chat's face and he suddenly felt very flustered. "I—yes—well—your favourite," he stammered. "I mean—should we go? We should go—yes—okay."

In a desperate effort to escape his growing embarrassment, Chat turned to rush off. Unfortunately, he didn't look where he was going and his bad luck came into play. He heard the warning cry of " _Chat_!" that his partner called out, but it was too late and he ran head first into the brick wall of the alleyway.

He stumbled back and crashed to the ground. Chat Noir groaned and blearily turned to his Lady. "Shit a brick, that hurt," he said, and promptly fell unconscious.

* * *

 _Pink_ , was the first thing that registered in his brain when he came to. Followed by _owww_ , and the realisation that he was in Marinette's bedroom; he was lying on her chaise lounge and ached all over.

"Are you okay?" His Lady and her kwami were watching him anxiously.

He groaned. "Don't run into brick walls, Mari. It hurts."

She raised her eyebrows at the nickname. "You must know me, to call me that."

"I do, sometimes you make it hard, but I do."

"What do you mean?" She asked, whilst offering him pain killers and a glass of water.

He sat up and took them gladly. "Well, not hard," he said, after pausing to take the tablets. "It's just sometimes you're a little shy around me. I've been persistent though; I've been getting you to open up."

Marinette looked thoughtful. "How could I miss you? How could I possibly not see you?"

"I'm not the same outside of the suit," he told her. "I'm a bit more subdued. You, though? You're Ladybug through and through and I'm kicking myself that I didn't see it sooner."

"It's the magic of the miraculous," her kwami—Tikki, if he recalled the name correctly—spoke up. "It allows you to keep your anonymity."

He smiled at her. "Well, that makes me feel better. Otherwise I'd have to be the most oblivious guy on the planet." He shook his head at the thought; it was a ridiculous notion. "But hello, it's Tikki, right?"

The kwami beamed. "Yes! Hello, it's nice to meet you, Chat Noir!"

"You're adorable," he said, as Tikki nuzzled his cheek.

Marinette smiled at them before asking, "What were you doing out today? We don't have patrol until tomorrow night."

"I just wanted a bit of freedom, you know? I couldn't stay cooped up in the house any longer. What were you doing suited up?"

She blushed. "I was delivering an order for _Maman_ and Papa, except I wasn't gonna get there on time so…"

"So Ladybug went for a swing around the city with some of the best baked goods in Paris?"

"That she did."

Chat laughed. "That's—" he cut himself off as he caught sight of Marinette's walls.

He had meant to say, 'That's gonna be on the Ladyblog for sure.' But _holy crap_ , that was a lot of photos of himself. What was Marinette doing with so many of his modelling posters? What did it mean?! Why was one of them _framed_?!

"What is it?" She asked, turning to follow his gaze. When she saw what he was looking at, she froze and then turned to him, spluttering and stammering and seeming so utterly _Marinette_ that it brought a smile to his face.

"So…are you a fan of the Gabriel brand or just Adrien Agreste in particular?" He asked, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.

Please let it be the latter! Please let it be the latter! Oh please, oh please, oh please, oh _pleeeeease_!

"It's not what you think!" Marinette said quickly, waving her hands around wildly in the air.

His heart sank.

"It's not just some dumb celebrity crush—"

A dumb celebrity what now?!

"If you know me, then you must know Adrien. How he so nice to everyone and how he makes time for us, even though his schedule is so full. He's just—he's so _good_. He's a good person, and you wouldn't think he would be, with all the he's had to go through."

Marinette's expression has turned distant and dreamy; meanwhile, Chat's heart had gone from sinking to fucking rocket launching into his throat. Because this was _Marinette_ , his Lady, talking about _him_ and holy crap it really seemed like—

"I didn't think much of him at first," Marinette continued. "I thought he was mean, just like Chloé, and that he'd put gum on my seat. But then he came up to me after school and explained that he'd been trying to take it off, and that he was still unsure how school and friends worked. He looked vulnerable, but he willing to try; to put himself out there to clear up the misunderstanding."

It _really_ seemed like—

"It was raining that day and he gave me his umbrella. Oh, Chat, it was a _coup de foudre_."

 _She loves me._

It was very, very hard to keep the ecstatic grin from his face.

Her smiled was soft; fond. "It closed on my head and we laughed; I don't get to hear him laugh like that very often. I wish he would do it more."

"Maybe he doesn't always get the chance to laugh like that?"

Marinette drew herself out of her memories to look at him. "He _deserves_ the chance; he deserves so much more than he gets. I just—I love him."

"I love you, too."

He could see the surprise and confusion flash over her features. "You what?"

Chat let his transformation go in a wave of green. Within moments, he was sitting in front of her as Adrien Agreste. "I love you, too," he repeated.

Marinette stared at him, wide-eyed. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out; her face rapidly turned bright red.

"Marinette?" Adrien asked, reaching out in concern when she hadn't responded after a full minute.

"You're _Adrien_ ," she eventually choked out.

"Uh, yep," he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I just said all that to you."

"You did."

Much like he had done in the alleyway, she sunk to the floor and curled up in a little ball. "Noooo," she moaned. "I just said all that embarrassing stuff, oh my god."

"That you did, Bug," Plagg spoke up for the first time. "But if it makes you feel any better, you should have heard some of the pining this kid's done about you."

" _Plagg_!" Adrien hissed, blushing heavily. "Shut up!"

The kwami ignored him. "He goes on about you all the time." Plagg put on a horrible impersonation of Adrien's voice. "Ladybug is so brave. Marinette is so nice. Marinette's really beauti—"

"Okay, thank you, Plagg!" Adrien loudly cut over his cat-like companion, trying to snatch the kwami out of the air. "That's enough."

Laughing, Plagg dodged him and then floated over to Tikki. "Hiya, Tik. How've you been?"

The kwami of creation hugged her counterpart. "It's good to see you, Plagg. I've been well, thank you."

"Wanna give these two some privacy? It's going to get super mushy and make me bring up my camembert."

Tikki smiled knowingly. "Still acting like you don't love it when a Ladybug and Chat Noir get together?"

"No! I just don't want to see them be all gross."

"Uh huh, sure you don't," Tikki laughed, as they floated away. "You've always been a big softy, Plagg."

Adrien turned away from the kwamis and Plagg's indignant reply to see Marinette still staring at him. She had stood back up and her face was still bright red, but her shocked expression had turned into one of determination.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I can do it," she said.

He frowned in confusion. "Do what?"

"I can do it; I can. I will!"

"I don't understand—"

"Do it, Marinette! Just do it!"

Although he didn't know what she meant, he couldn't stop the automatic reply that formed: "Don't let your dreams be—"

Marinette kissed him.

 _Oh_ , he realised. _That's what she meant_.

Her lips were soft and her touch was gentle as she cupped his face. Shocked as he was, Adrien had only just begun to kiss back when she drew away from him.

He put his hands on her waist, stopping her from going any farther. "Please," he said, his voice low and fervent. "Please, Marinette, do that again."

Their eyes met. Marinette was red faced (and no doubt he was the same), but that didn't stop her from leaning in again, lips parted. Ready for it this time, Adrien tilted his head, closed his eyes and met her eagerly.

This kiss was unlike the first. This was hard, desperate and filled with longing. He clung to her, breathing heavy, as they kissed again and again. His heart was pounding, his legs felt weak and he was pretty sure Hawk Moth had taken up residence in his stomach because it was filled with butterflies.

When the urgency left them and they curled up on Marinette's chaise, exchanging soft kisses, gentle caresses and sweet nothings.

"I love you," he told her, no matter how many times he'd said it before then.

Adrien felt incredible; his cheeks actually hurt from smiling so much. The best part was that they could continue to feel this way. They could be together as a couple from then on—they were together?—ah well, something to clarify later.

"I love you, too," she replied, curled up against him; happy, content. "And of course we're together, you silly cat."

Oh, he'd said that out loud.

She kissed his cheek. "Yes, you did."

He smiled and they fell into a comfortable silence. Eventually though, a thought occurred to him and he broke it. "You know, you could say I knocked you off your feet today."

Marinette laughed. "Yeah, and then you knocked yourself out."

Adrien wasn't expecting that response and all thoughts of puns and jokes disappeared as he let out an indignant, " _Princess_!"

She smirked. "What's wrong, _Minou_? Cat got your tongue?"

Before he could reply, Marinette drew him in for a kiss. If that was the way she was going to shut him up from then on, Adrien would be glad to never have the last word.

He also would have been glad to stay like that forever, but eventually an akuma demanded their attention. Their teamwork was flawless and it was defeated in no time; it was just business as usual for Ladybug and Chat Noir. The only difference to their previous battles was how they celebrated their victory. This time, instead of their customary fist bump, the pair shocked the city and made Alya's life by coming together in a kiss.

 _Bien joué!_

* * *

 **Okay, the various titles...**

 _"Cabbage"_

 _"Shit this was supposed to be short."_

 _"Do you know why penguins are black and white?"_

 _"There's no more tinto left"_

 _"I have no idea what this fic is about but I'm trying to name it either way"_

 _"2000 words too long."_

 _"You're Chat Noir, and I'm An Idiot"_

 _"Why Chat Noir is no longer allowed to do parkour"_

 _"The truth is set in stone. Or, in this case, walls."_

 _"Gotta get your head in the game"_

 _"Bop to the top"_

 _"Brick Wall...uigi"_

 _"Of truths and invisible walls."_

 _"What happens when you don't look where you're going"_

 _"I told you to watch out but now it's too late"_

 _"And the walls start coming and they don't stop coming."_

 _"Somebody just told me the wall was gonna roll me"_

 _"Hit the ground (running)"_

 _"It's not a crash landing if you land on someone, right?"_

 _"Hit the wall, Chat"_

 _"I found someone to carry me home tonight"_

 _"Bells to the wall"_

 _"Falling for you"_

 _"How to be a superhero, Crash course"_

 _"Bang bang, I hit the wall."_

 _"How not to be suave in front of the love of your life"_

 _"Love is a Chat-ttlefield"_

 _"How to fuck up: a guide by Chat Noir"_

 _"Oh, hey. I didn't see you there. (Said Chat to the wall)"_

 _"How to fluster your Chat until he crashes into the wall"_

 _"My name is Brick Wall. It's short for Brichard."_

 _"oh hey, didn't see you there. (Said Chat to Ladybug)"_

 _"Do not leave your chat off his leash or unattended"_

 _"yes, it's another ridiculous reveal fic_

 _"Falling with style"_

 _"Just do it"_

 _"The fic I couldn't pick just one title for, so now it has 37 titles"_

 _"City of walls, are you standing just for me"_

 _"What a waste of lovely crash."_

 _"What can I say except be careful!"_

 _"How to knock yourself out and look good in front of your partner: a guide by Chat Noir."_

 _"Consider the big brick wall. (The what?)"_

 _Thank you, lovelies, for the suggestions._

 _I seriously suck at naming fics, guys. Please let me know which one you guys like the most._


	5. Day 5: Interlude

_Hi everyone!_

 _Hoooo boy, this fic took me a while. Better late than never, am I right? Well, I suppose I can't say that this fic took me a while—I wrote it all today—it's more that the response to Day 5 took me a while. I started like 5 other fics for this, but I kept writing about 200 words and then getting some serious writers block. I got the idea for this when I was falling asleep last night and I (luckily) didn't forget it when I woke up._

 _So here's my response to Day 5: Mid/post battle. I hope you like it! Please let me know what you thought in the reviews, and once again, I'm sorry if there's typos._

 _Much love,_

 _Leisey._

* * *

 **Interlude**

* * *

Chat Noir didn't really know what he expected when he and Ladybug finally went head-to-head against Hawk Moth, but getting their asses kicked wasn't it.

They were holed up in a secluded part of Hawk Moth's lair. They'd managed to give their enemy the slip, and were currently regrouping; catching their breath and trying to think of a new plan.

It was dark, and there was barely any light in the little corner they huddled in. They'd collapsed on the ground, slumped together and sitting up against the wall; they were _exhausted_. Neither of them knew how late it was. All they knew what that they'd been battling for hours and had barely made any leeway.

"Why didn't we think he'd make a lot of akumas to guard him?" Chat asked, breathing heavily. "In hindsight, that seems _really_ obvious."

Much like which the Puppeteer, Hawk Moth had turned a bunch of previously-akumatised people back into his 'champions.' Dealing with them made it exceedingly difficult to get close to Hawk Moth and take the butterfly miraculous from him.

Ladybug didn't answer Chat's question. Instead, there was just the sound of huffing and puffing as the two superheroes got their breath back.

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

They groaned as their miraculouses started counting down until they detransformed.

"How many transformations have we gone through?" Ladybug asked.

"Too many."

"Do you have any cheese left?"

"A little, but who's to say the others won't find our stash of cheese and cookies?"

"Well, it's not like we can bring food into battle."

They lapsed into silence, neither of them having an answer to the predicament they found themselves in.

"Do you—do you think we underestimated him?" Ladybug eventually spoke up.

Chat contemplated her question. "Maybe we did, but what else could we do? We figured out who he was and we found his lair. Could we really afford to wait any longer than we did? He could have slipped through our fingers if we waited any longer."

"He _is_ slipping through our fingers," she replied. "We haven't got close to him at all."

"Now you're underestimating _us_ ," Chat gave her a comforting grin. "We'll get him. I know we will."

"How can you be so confident? Aren't you scared?"

Chat let out a hollow laugh. "Ladybug, I'm terrified."

It was a mark of how serious he was, when he didn't even use one of his many nicknames for her. Seeking some small form of comfort, he reached out a shaky hand to grasp hers; Ladybug held onto it desperately.

"Then how—?"

"How can I say that we'll win? Because I have faith in us. We haven't let Paris down yet, and we're not gonna start now. That doesn't mean I'm not scared—I really am terrified—we've come close to dying a lot of times tonight. I don't want to lose you and I don't want to die, but—"

"But we're Ladybug and Chat Noir, and we'll defeat him. Together," Ladybug finished, sounding more confident than she did moments before. "How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?"

"I could ask the same of you, my Lady."

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"There is one thing," Chat said, tensing at the sound of his miraculous. "If—if something happens to me, I need you to tell my Father."

"Chat, no. You're gonna be fine. _We're_ gonna be fi—"

"I know, but if something does. If I don't make it out of this—"

"Chat, _no_ —"

"Ladybug, _please_. He's the only family I've got left—I'm all he's got left—if I disappear, he needs to know what happened."

With his night-vision, he had no trouble seeing the tears that started streaming down his partner's face. "Nothing's gonna happen to you," she said, her voice shaky. "I won't let it."

He gently wiped the tears away. "Please don't cry, _Buginette_."

"How can I not, when you talk like that?"

"I promise I'll try my hardest to come out of this alive, but we both know that you're more imp—"

"If you say I'm more important than you, I'll kill you before Hawk Moth gets a chance!" Ladybug snapped, tears flowing freely. "I'm not more important! We're _equals_ , Chat Noir, so you can throw out any notions you have of noble sacrifices!"

"My Lady—"

"I saw you fade from existence once," she said. "Timebreaker was about to get me, but you jumped in front of me and took the hit instead. You started fading, right there in my arms, and you don't remember it at all."

Chat gaped at her. She was right, he didn't remember that in the slightest. Timebreaker was so long ago, why had she never said anything?

"But _I_ remember it," she continued. "I remember being terrified I wouldn't be able to save you, and I never want to feel that way again. So we're not doing sacrifices, do you understand me?!"

"Ladybug, why didn't you tell me?"

"What would be the point of telling you that you almost died? No, it was better to leave you with the idea of two Ladybugs, instead of how close to death you got."

Chat was silent as he thought over what she said. Eventually he replied, "You still should have told me. That wasn't something you had to carry around on your own. That said, I'm sorry I put you through that."

She leant her head on his shoulder. "It's okay."

It wasn't okay. Not really. Nothing about their current situation was okay. Chat gave a non-committal hum in reply and they lapse back into silence.

He knew they'd have to get up soon. Hawk Moth and his akumas were looking for them; their little sanctuary would be discovered any minute now. He knew—he did—that it was their duty to get up and continue the battle, but he didn't want to. He just wanted a little moment of rest; a break from the fighting. In the dark and with his Lady by his side, Chat could almost pretend that they were curled up on some rooftop, enjoying a quiet moment together after a patrol.

A boom sounded in the distance and the moment of peace shattered. Chat sighed; it was time to get back to the fighting.

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"Chat Noir?" Ladybug spoke up from beside him, ignoring the frantic chiming of their miraculouses.

He turned to her. "Mm?"

She reached up to cup his face and draw him down into a kiss. Chat stiffened in surprise, not expecting it in the slightest. Unfortunately, Ladybug must have taken his rigidness as a negative, because she drew away instantly.

No, wait—no—come back—what?

Chat couldn't manage to voice any of the thoughts running through his head, because his Lady beat him to it. "I'm sorry," she apologised. "I just wanted to do that at least once, before it was all over. Just—just in case."

 _Just in case._

Like him, Ladybug was thinking of the possibility that they wouldn't make it out of this. She kissed him, afraid she'd never get another chance. She kissed him. _She kissed him!_

Without a word, Chat pulled her into his lap and leant down to return the gesture. He kissed her gently, then firmly, then just a tad desperately. If he was to die that night, he'd die with the taste of her on his lips; with the memory of her in his arms and her hands clinging to him.

With the memory of one final confession.

"I love you," he told her, resting his forehead against hers. "I wanted to tell you that at least once, before it was all over. Just in case."

She pulled him into another passionate kiss. "I love you, too," she said when she pulled away. "You're not allowed to die on me."

Despite their situation, despite their dark topic of discussion, Chat beamed. She loved him!

"I'll try not to," he promised.

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"But—but if you do," Ladybug cringed, as if the thought pained her. "If you do—if I have to tell your Father—I need your name."

He stared at her, surprised. "Really? You'll do it?"

She nodded. "You better not make me have to go through it, but I will. The same rules apply to you: if something happens to me, you have to tell my parents. Promise?"

"I promise."

She took a deep breath, composing herself. "Okay, who are you, Chat Noir?"

Chat looked down at his miraculous and his final, blinking pawprint. He turned back to his partner and revealed his civilian identity. "My name is Adrien. Adrien Agreste," he said, watching as shock flittered onto his Lady's features. "Plagg, detransform me."

His suit and claws went away in a flash of green and he could just make out Ladybug's astounded face in the darkness. In order to distract himself from his pounding heart and his racing thoughts— _holy shit, I just revealed myself_!—he gave his kwami some camembert.

"Here you go, Plagg. Eat up."

The kwami took the cheese gladly. "You're doing good, kid," he said, sounding as tired as Adrien felt.

Adrien nervously turned back to his partner and was horrified to see that she was crying again. "Ladybug, why are—?"

"Adrien," she finally spoke up. "You're _Adrien_. Oh god, you're not allowed to die, okay? You're _not_. And jeez, I'm crying again. I hate crying."

"I'm sorry—"

"Don't apologise, _Chaton_. You have nothing to apologise for. It's just—gah, it'll be easier to show you."

Pink light washed over her and suddenly Marinette Dupain-Cheng was sitting in arms. A ladybug-like kwami came out of her earring and immediately flew over to their stash of cookies, murmuring an exhausted, "I'm proud of you two," as she went.

"Marinette," he whispered in awe, tears building in her eyes; if they were happy tears, or terrified tears that he'd lose her—her and Ladybug both, because they were the one incredible person—he didn't know.

"I can't lose you both, okay?" She said, wiping her eyes and unknowingly voicing the same fear he had. "Not Chat _and_ Adrien. Even though you're the same person, but I didn't know that and now I could lose the pair of you and I _can't_ and—"

He kissed her. He tried to put as much emotion as he could into it, and she matched him eagerly. Murmurs of love and passionate kisses were exchanged, and Adrien would have loved to have stayed that way forever. Eventually though, he knew they had to move. The distant noises of the akumas were getting closer; they couldn't afford to stay there any longer.

He reluctantly pulled away from her and got to his feet. "We're going to win," he said as he helped her stand. "We can do it."

Her hands were still in his and she gave him a brave smile. "Together."

"Together," he agreed.

"For Paris."

"For Paris, and for us. Because you just gave me so much more incentive to win."

She blushed, but a teasing grin was on her face when she replied, "Isn't saving the city incentive enough?"

Adrien wrapped an arm around her waist and held her to him. "I do want to save the city, yes. But I love you, and a future where you feel the same and there's no butterfly wielding manic to get in the way of that, is worth fighting for."

Marinette smiled at him, determination burning in her eyes. "Then let's go save Paris, _Chaton_."

He gave her his best Chat Noir bow and gestured to their kwamis. "After you, My Lady."

Recharged, Tikki and Plagg floated back over to them.

"Are you guys ready to go again?" Marinette asked.

The kwamis nodded.

"We're fine," Tikki said. "You two can do this. Just believe in each other and you'll get through it."

"I'll deny ever saying this, but you two are some of the best Bugs and Kittens we've ever had," Plagg added.

"We're so proud of you. You can do it!" Tikki finished.

"Thank you," the two superheroes chorused.

Another loud bang in the distance signalled that their enemies were getting closer. Marinette and Adrien shared a look; it was now or never.

"Tikki!"

"Plagg!"

"Transform me!"

Suited up and closer than ever before, Ladybug and Chat Noir shared on final glance. So much passed between them: encouragement, love, strength. They would do this. They would win. They _would_. Side by side, they took off to find their enemy.

Hawk Moth never stood a chance.


	6. Improv is not Ladybug's Strong Suit

_Hey, guys._

 _Two fics in two days. What even? This was actually the first fic I wrote for Reveal Week, so I'm excited to finally be posting it. It's my response to 'Day 6: Consenual,' and I hope you like it. I don't know when I'll get Day 7 up, as I have a lot of uni stuff going on at the moment, but I'll get there eventually._

 _Please let me know what you thought in the reviews._

 _Much love,_

 _Leisey_

* * *

 **Improvisation is not Ladybug's Strong Suit**

* * *

Everything was all Alya's fault.

Granted, Ladybug and Chat Noir were superheroes and tasked with keeping the peace in their city, so it was understandable the blogger would come to them with a problem. That didn't mean Ladybug understood how she and her partner got roped into helping Alya prove that some big shot journalist was a fraud.

She supposed that Alya was just scarily persuasive. That, plus Marinette was never one to deny her best friend (other than Chat) anything. There was also something to be said about this reporter spreading rumours about her and Chat Noir (some trash about them using their powers for evil; that was Hawkmoth's thing, not theirs, thank you very much.)

Alya's plan was to get into the reporter's computer, find proof that she'd falsified evidence and then show it to the public.

"Do I want to know how you know where this women's office and computer are?" Ladybug whispered as they snuck into said building, late at night.

"Probably not," Alya answered, leading them down hallways and up to higher floors.

Ladybug turned to Chat, who was bringing up the rear and acting as silent as his namesake. "Is this abusing the power of our miraculouses? Because it feels like it is."

He shook his head. "We're clearing our name," he replied, his voice low. "How could that be abusing our power?"

"We're breaking and entering!"

"Semantics," Alya said from her position in the lead.

"You are _not_ helping!" Ladybug hissed at her.

"My Lady, are you being a _scaredy cat_?" She could practically _hear_ the smirk in Chat's voice.

"You're not helping either!" She whispered to him. "I just don't want to get caught."

"Eh," Alya said dismissively, "my friend Marinette steals phones all the time and she's never caught."

"What?!" Ladybug and Chat chorused.

Ladybug couldn't believe Alya had just told them that. Chat, for his part, simply looked stunned at the prospect of Marinette being a phone thief.

"There's no way Marinette steals phones," he said. "She's too good for that."

Ladybug was a strange combination of mortified where the conversation had gone, pleased at Chat's high opinion of her civilian self and confused as to why he thought that way about her. He'd only met her a few times as Marinette, after all.

Alya laughed. "Well, she has. I think she's up to two stolen phones now? Maybe three."

Chat shook his head. "No way. I can't imagine her doing that at all."

"Well, in my girl's defence, those were extenuating circumstances."

"Like what?" Chat wanted to know.

"I'm sure she didn't keep them," Ladybug interjected before Alya could dish out any more embarrassing secrets. "I'm sure she gave them back."

"Oh yeah, of course," Alya agreed. "Marinette's not an _actual_ thief."

"But why did she steal them in the first place?" Chat pressed.

"No way, Chat Noir," Alya shook her head. "I've already told you two enough."

 _Oh, thank the miraculouses,_ Ladybug thought.

"Aww, I wanna know," Chat whined.

"You know what they say about curiosity and cats," she said to her partner.

He didn't even bat an eyelid. "But satisfaction brought it back."

Before Ladybug could reply, Alya let out an excited, "We're here!"

They stood before a plain wooden door. It's only distinguishing feature was a plaque that read, _Colette Renoir_.

"Ooh, she's got a plaque," Chat observed. "Fancy."

"Well, Miss Fancy-Pants in going down," Alya said, trying the doorhandle. She huffed in annoyance. "It's locked."

Just as Ladybug was about to voice her thought of, 'Welp, guess we better get out of here,' Alya drew lock picks out of her pocket.

The two superheroes gaped at her.

"Alya, what the f—" Ladybug caught herself before she said anything rude. It wouldn't do for a superhero to swear.

"Alya, what the fuck?" Chat, it seemed, had no such qualms.

"Relax, it's fine," the blogger said as she began to pick the lock.

"We're breaking and entering!" Ladybug hissed, for the second time that night.

"No," Alya disagreed. "We're lock picking and entering. That's totally different."

Ladybug turned to Chat for help, hoping he'd be able to talk some sense into their wayward accomplice. However, her partner was still staring at Alya wide-eyed and looking both shocked and slightly impressed. (Ladybug felt the same, but she wasn't about to say that.)

"How do you know how to pick locks?" He asked the blogger.

Alya shrugged. "The internet is a great place."

Chat paused and then rephrased his question. "Okay, _why_ do you know how to pick locks?"

She shrugged again. "You never know when you'll need it." The lock gave a final click and Alya grinned triumphantly. "Like now, for instance," she said, swinging the door open.

They all trooped cautiously into the office. It was deserted and Alya instantly made a beeline to the computer.

Ladybug wrung her hands nervously. "Oh, we're gonna get caught and our reputations will be ruined. Even worse than what this woman has been doing to us. Paris will never trust us again."

Alya's voice cut off her panicking. "She has the office door locked but the computer isn't password protected?" She scoffed in derision. " _Amateur_."

Ladybug started as Chat put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Bug," he said, his voice low and serious. "It's okay. We're not hurting anyone, we're just gonna get what we need and get out. But this woman? She's been lying about us and our powers. She's been spreading unrest in the city and making people more vulnerable to Hawkmoth. We need to do whatever it takes to make her stop, even if that means taking a risk and breaking and entering."

She sighed, resting her head upon his chest and taking comfort in his presence. She smiled as she felt his arms go around her in a hug. "Thank you, _Chaton_."

She could feel him smiling against the top of her head. "Any time, My Lady," he replied. His voice, low, steady and full of devotion, made her heart pound in her chest.

 _Oh no_ , she thought. _Oh no. Nononono_. This was _not_ the time for this kind of realisation!

 _Oh yes_ , thought the traitorous part of her that'd been feeling something for her partner for months.

Stupid feelings! Stupid cat! Stupid heart! Not now!

Sure, she'd been contemplating her feelings for Chat for months now. Sure, she'd had many a heart to heart with Tikki about it. Sure, falling in love with Chat meant she no longer acted like an idiot in front of Adrien and school was no longer a minefield of embarrassing situations. But this was _so not the time!_ She was in no position to be smacked in the face with the realisation of _Holy shit, I love Chat Noir._ Not today, not right now, no thank you.

"I've got it!" Alya's voice was a welcome distraction from Ladybug's mental panic. "All her files that prove Renoir has been lying about her reports!"

Chat let her go and Ladybug was reluctant to admit she missed the contact. "So what's our next move?" He asked.

Alya grinned wickedly. "Now we expose her for the world to see."

* * *

Marinette had to admit it, Alya knew how to draw in a crowd. All it took was a post on the Ladyblog, a few tweets and people turned up to the park across from Marinette's home in droves.

Ladybug stood behind a podium with a microphone and in front of a large mass of reporters and civilians. She could even see a camera crew or two...or three...or four.

Renoir was there amongst the reporters and Ladybug tried not to glare in her direction (she wasn't entirely sure if she succeeded.) She tried to act natural, though. As if she didn't break into her office the night before (she didn't think she succeeded with that, either.)

Ladybug turned to where Alya and Chat Noir were hurrying around behind her, trying desperately to get the computer and projector working. They had run into technical difficulties right before their conference had been about to start, and it had yet to be resolved.

"Stall them!" Alya hissed at her.

Ladybug turned back to the crowd, who were getting antsy from waiting around. She'd become used to talking in front of them since becoming a superhero, but this was different. This was Marinette making up something in order to stall for time.

Marinette was _awful_ at improvisation. How many times had Alya told her specifically _not_ to improv?

She gulped, drew on her Ladybug courage and spoke into the microphone. "Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming."

The crowd stood to attention; she tried not to seem as daunted by that as she felt.

"I'm sure you've heard lots of rumours about Chat Noir and I in the papers recently," she began.

That was a good start, right?

"And we're here to clear them up," she continued. "You see, Chat and I are...um," she turned to her two best friends behind her, hoping they would have got the issue sorted and she wouldn't have to keep talking.

They hadn't. If anything, they seemed worse. Alya looked harried and Chat was tangled in computer cords.

"Stall them!" The pair chorused.

Okay, she could do this. Something to stall them. To shock them. To keep them occupied.

Ladybug faced the crowd. "Chat and I are...um...well, we wanted you to know…"

She cleared her throat; her mouth moved before her brain could tell her to stop.

"Chat Noir and I are dating."

The crowd gasped in unison, clearly not expecting the announcement. She would have found it funny if her brain wasn't screaming in protest at her.

That was the _worst possible thing_ she could have said! Well, it wasn't a particularly bad idea, privately, but it wasn't something to announce to the whole city!

The crowd soon got over their shock and began applauding. They clapped, cheered, and hollered. They were so loud, the park seemed to shake.

Ladybug looked helplessly back at her two friends, only to find Alya and Chat Noir staring at her in shock. Chat, still tangled in cords, looked absolutely gobsmacked and Alya abandoned all attempts at fixing their computer problems to scream, " _I fucking knew it!"_

In a flurry of limbs, Chat freed himself from the cords and walked over to her; this just made the crowd cheer even louder.

He tugged her gently away from the range of the microphone to whisper, "We're dating now, are we? I must have missed that memo, because I'm sure I would have noticed if I was dating someone as beautiful as you, My Lady."

"I'm sorry!" She tried not to let her distress and embarrassment show. "I'm awful at improv!"

They were very close to one another. Her heart was pounding and she flushed when Chat brought a clawed hand up to cup her cheek. "Well," he said, his voice low and smooth and she had to resist the urge to shiver. "I certainly wasn't expecting that, but I'm not going to deny that I like the idea."

Before she could reply, Alya shouted, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

The crowd took up the chant. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Chat's eyes flickered from her, to the crowd and back. There was a light blush to his cheeks. It seemed like he was finally starting to lose his composure. "W-well, My Lady, I think we have to give the people what they want."

She gave a small shake of her head and rushed to speak before he could assume the worst. "No, Chat, what _I_ want. I want _you_ , and I want _us_. I mean, I want us to be an us. Oh god, now I'm babbling. But I have feelings for you, Chat. This isn't the best way to tell you, I know, but I have them. I have for some time now, if you'll have me."

Once again, she'd rendered him gobsmacked. "If I'll have you?" He whispered, as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard. "My Lady, I've been in love with you since day one. How could you ever think I wouldn't want you?"

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" The crowd would not be denied.

"Chat, I—" but whatever she was about to say was cut off as Chat did exactly what their audience called for.

His lips pressed to hers in a searing kiss. Nothing scandalous, as they were well aware of the hundreds of people around them, but Ladybug still felt like she'd been lit on fire. She felt warm and tingly and so completely _gone_ on her partner, it was amazing she'd only had the realisation she loved him the night before.

The kiss was sweet and tender. The smile that Chat Noir gave her when they eventually pulled apart was even more so.

The crowd went wild. They didn't stop cheering until Alya marched up to the microphone and said, "Okay, okay, I know we're all excited. Believe me, I know, this is the best day of my life. But! We also called this meeting for another very important reason."

Everyone seemed to hold their breath. Ladybug and Chat Noir looked on, ready for Renoir to get her comeuppance.

Alya pointed her out in the crowd. "That woman is a liar _and I can prove it!"_

* * *

Later that afternoon, when they'd finally managed to get away from Alya and the press, Ladybug and Chat Noir sat side by side on a random rooftop. It had taken them a while, but they'd managed to find a secluded rooftop, as everyone that spotted them at their normal places to hang out would let out a cheer, give congratulations and a thumbs up. Here, they were alone and able to bask in the comfort of each other's presence.

They sat with their arms wrapped around each other and Ladybug had her head resting on her partner's shoulder.

"Is today even real?" Chat eventually asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had formed around them. "I feel like this is a dream and any moment now, I'm going to wake up."

She smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "It's real, _Chaton_. You won me over with your kindness, trust, and even your awful sense of humour. I'm not going anywhere, and when you wake up in the morning, I'm still gonna be just a transformation away."

He slumped in displeasure. "Do we have to hide, though? I don't want to date a mask."

She couldn't deny the appeal of what he suggested. But instead, she asked, "Is that what we are now? We're dating?"

The question brought a grin to Chat's face. "You're the one that told Paris we were."

"Well, a superhero can't go back on her word, can she?"

Chat's grin turned into a full blown, ear-to-ear smile and he beamed at her. "Girlfriend," he said, testing out the word.

"Boyfriend," she returned, before pausing hesitantly. "I...I don't want to date a mask either."

There were so many things that could go wrong with a reveal, but there were so many things that could go _right_.

"I didn't fall in love with a mask," he told her. "I fell in love with the girl under it. The one who was nervous, but stood up to defend Paris. The one who has my back in fights, no matter what we're up against. The one who will sit and talk to me way after patrol has ended, despite the fact it's far too late for any sane person to still be awake. _That_ girl. Ladybug, whoever you may be under there, I love you."

A blush erupted on her cheeks and his words made her heart pound. But she took a deep breath and said, "Marinette."

She felt him freeze and slowly turn to face her. His eyes were wide and there was a clear question in them: was she saying what he thought she was saying?

She let her transformation drop. "My name is Marinette," she said, "and I love you, too."

Tikki disappeared into her purse, sensing that this was a conversation the two miraculous wielders needed to have alone.

Chat reached out a shaking hand to cup her cheek. His touch was soft, hesitant. As if he thought she would disappear any second.

She reached up to cover his hand with her own and give it a comforting squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm always gonna be right here, _Chaton_."

"Adrien," he corrected in a whisper.

It was her turn to freeze. She raked her eyes over him, cataloguing every similarity to another certain blonde that she hadn't noticed until then.

"You've been right behind me this whole time," he murmured in awe, slightly pulling away from her.

Chat's suit disappeared in a flash of green and Adrien Agreste sat in his place. A cat-like kwami appeared out of his ring and went to join Tikki with nothing more than a, "Good luck, kid."

Months ago, Marinette probably would have screamed at such a revelation. Now, she simply smiled at him. "Of course it's you. I don't know why I didn't see it before."

"Because magic!" Chat's kwami piped up from her purse. "And everyone in this city is dumb as f—!"

" _Plagg_!" Came Tikki reprimanding voice. "We're supposed to be giving them privacy!"

"Right. Sorry," the kwami didn't sound apologetic in the slightest. "Ignore us."

Adrien grinned sheepishly. "That's Plagg. He likes to act like a pain, but he's got a heart of gold, really."

They both ignored the muffled sound of protest that emanated from Marinette's purse.

Adrien moved closer to her, taking her hand and lightly threading his fingers with hers. "I still mean it. I love you, Marinette."

Her reply was instantaneous. "I love you too, Adrien."

He beamed at her. " _You love me_ ," he said, awed, like he couldn't believe it was true.

Marinette blushed. "Yes, well, that's nothing new."

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Considering how you blindsided me at that press conference, I'd call that pretty new."

She shook her head. "No, I mean that I—" she cut herself off with a groan.

"What's wrong?"

"I had a _huge_ crush on you. Adrien-you, I mean. I got over you to fall in love with you all over again!" She collapsed against him, resting her head on his chest with another groan.

He had the audacity to laugh. "Well, _that_ certainly explains months of stammering."

"Don't even, _Chaton_. Let me be mortified in peace."

"If it makes you feel better, I thought you were too cute and kind your own good," Adrien murmured into her ear. "And do you want to know a secret?"

"Mmm?"

"I really wanted to kiss you when we were filming our class movie."

That confession brought a heavy blush to her cheeks, but it didn't stop her from replying, "I really wanted to kiss you, too."

Adrien stepped even closer to her and his eyes drifted to her lips. "So, if I were to ask…"

Marinette didn't even let him get the question out. She pulled him in for a kiss and lost herself to the sensation of her lips on his.

When they finally separated, Adrien was wearing a dazed and incredibly pleased expression. She felt a thrill of satisfaction knowing that she was the one that did that to him.

"So, you're my girlfriend," he said, when his wits finally returned to him.

"And you're my boyfriend."

"How in the world are we going to explain this to everyone?"

That gave her pause. "I...I don't know."

"Maybe you should leave the story to me, My Lady."

"Okay, but why?"

He smirked and she knew that whatever he was about to say would result in an eye roll.

"Well, if today has taught me anything, it's taught me this: improvisation _really_ isn't your strong suit."


	7. Day 7: Aftermath

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL FANFICTION WIFE, WONDERFULWIZARDOFTHOZZ! It might not be your birthday where you are, but it is in Australia, so here you go! Everyone go read my wifey's fics because she is amazing!_

 _Here's my last Reveal Week fic. It's super late, but I've been drowning in uni assessments. It was nice to write something today that didn't make my brain want to give out._

 _So here's Day 7: Loved Ones. Please let me know what you thought in the reviews!_

 _Much love,_

 _Leisey._

 _P.S: Sorry if there's typos. It's late here._

* * *

 **Aftermath**

* * *

When Gabriel Agreste was revealed to be Hawk Moth, all of Paris was shocked. They were thankful, of course, because it meant that Ladybug and Chat Noir had won, and there'd be no more risk of being akumatised. They were a strange combination of shocked and elated, but that didn't stop them from singing the superheroes praises.

They didn't know that in order to win, Ladybug and Chat Noir had to seal away the Butterfly miraculous with their own. They didn't know that the power of miraculouses would be dormant for an indefinite amount of time, while the Bufferfly and Nooroo were being purged of Gabriel's negative energy.

They didn't know that Chat Noir had put his own Father in prison, and they didn't know that Ladybug and Chat Noir had no idea who each other were. The people of Paris didn't know that their superheroes couldn't contact each other. That they had no plan for what to do once the fight was over.

What they _did_ know was that Adrien Agreste was heartbroken over what his Father had done. "That poor boy," people would whisper in the streets. "Who will look after him?" Asked talk show hosts and news reporters. "What will happen to him now?"

When Marinette Dupain-Cheng heard talk like that, her heart would sink further than it already had. She should feel happy—they defeated Hawk Moth!—but instead she felt guilty for ruining Adrien's life. She felt guilt and an overwhelming sadness, because she'd lost Chat Noir.

It would be easier to deal with everything if she had her _Chaton_. She missed him. Wanted to talk to him, hang out with him, listen to his stupid puns. Marinette didn't even care about secret identities anymore, she just wanted to know who he was, hold onto him and never let go.

And Adrien? God, _Adrien_. Marinette knew her feelings for him would result in nothing. She'd put his Father in prison; she'd ruined his life. There was no way anything would happen between them now. She wouldn't let that happen. Not when there was something like that hanging over them. Not when she could never tell Adrien that.

What she _could_ do was be his friend. So, when Adrien sent a group text to her, Alya, Nino and Chloé—the first contact any of them had had with him since this whole mess started—she'd rushed to the Agreste mansion to see him.

Nathalie let them in. Despite the situation, she looked no different than usual: suit clean and not a hair out of place. It was as if the last few days hadn't happened at all.

The only thing different was the smile she greeted them with. "I'm glad you're here. Adrien…Adrien needs his friends. His body guard is with him now, but he needs people his own age to talk to. Please, go on up to his room. He'll be happy to see you."

It warmth Marinette's heart that Adrien still had Nathalie and the Gorilla looking after him, despite everything that had happened. She and her friends took Nathalie's words to heart, thanked her, and then hurried up the stairs.

As they went, Chloé said, "I'm calling a truce for today."

That gave Marinette, Alya and Nino pause. "Huh?" the latter eloquently asked.

Chloé gave him a look; she seemed like she was barely restraining an eye roll. "Today isn't about us. It isn't about how we feel about each other, or how we act at school. It's about _Adrien_. He needs us, so we're going to have to get along."

Silence reigned.

"Well said," Alya eventually spoke up. "I agree."

Nino nodded. "So do I. I wasn't even gonna mention it; I thought we all just knew that today was about my best bud, not us."

They all turned to Marinette expectantly.

"I wasn't going to say or start anything, either," she said. "We're here for _Adrien_."

Chloé took a deep breath and then held her hand out, palm facing down. "Truce?"

Marinette didn't hestitate. She put her hand on Chloé's and said, "Truce."

Alya put her hand in. "Truce."

Nino put his on top. "Truce, my dudes."

This was a side of Chloé that Marinette hadn't seen before. Maybe—just maybe—the blonde wasn't as bad as she thought.

The Mayor's daughter snatched her hand away and kept walking. "This doesn't make us friends!"

Ah well, baby steps.

The Gorilla was just coming out of Adrien's room when they arrived at his door. The bodyguard nodded at them in greeting and then gestured for them to go inside. The four trooped into the room, and found Adrien pacing in front of his TV.

Whereas Nathalie and the Gorilla looked no different than normal, Adrien looked awful. Marinette had never seen him look so unkempt. His hair was a mess, his usual white over-shirt was gone. He black one looked creased and stained. His eyes, that normally shone so brightly, were dull and puffy from crying. There were bags under them and it looked like he hadn't slept in days.

He looked like he was barely keeping it together.

As guilty as Marinette felt, it was ten times worse seeing him like that.

"Hey, man," Nino greeted.

Adrien stopped pacing and looked at them. A small, barely-there smile graced his lips. "Hey, guys. Thanks for coming." He gestured towards the lounge. "Take a seat."

Even with the four of them, they had no trouble fitting on Adrien's ridiculously large and comfortable lounge. As soon as they were comfortable, Adrien resumed his pacing.

They watched him go, concerned, until Alya asked, "Adrien, you okay?"

Chloé scoffed in derision. "Of course he's not okay. His—"

Adrien stopped his pacing and put a hand up to interrupt her. "It's okay, Chlo. It's just—I, uh—I don't really know how to say what I want to say."

Marinette could understand that. He'd been through a lot. It was no wonder Adrien didn't know where to start.

"It's no rush," she told him. "We can wait until you're ready."

He sent her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Marinette." He took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. "I can do it. No time like the present, right?"

"Whatever it is, we're here for you," Nino promised, and the rest of them nodded in agreement.

Adrien smile became a bit more pronounced after that, but it disappeared once he started talking. "I asked you guys here because I don't know what to do and I need your help. I don't have anybody else. I don't have any other family." Adrien cringed. "My—my Father was all I had."

"Not that he was much of one," Chloé muttered, scowling.

"Chloé!" Marinette, Alya and Nino protested in unison, because she couldn't just say that when Adrien was right there!

Adrien actually laughed. A harsh, bitter sound, but a laugh nevertheless. "No, but he had his moments…and I'm sure, that for all that's happened, he had his reasons."

Marinette had wondered about that. Why would the world-famous and powerful fashion designer, Gabriel Agreste, want the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous? What could possibly be the reason? He'd remained tight-lipped on the matter when Chat Noir had asked after they'd defeated him. Although, 'asked' was a bit of an understatement. It was more like a confused, angry, guttural demand of, " _Why_?!"

"For my son," was the only answer he gave.

And now, here was that son, standing in front of her and looking absolutely wrecked. Whatever Gabriel's reasons were, it wasn't worth the outcome.

"I've got Nathalie and the Gorilla," Adrien continued. "They care about me, but they don't know me all well as you four do." He paused and gave them a sad smile. "You guys are about the only loved ones I've got left."

They gasped at that.

"Adrien," Marinette whispered, feeling tears build in her eyes.

Within seconds, they were all off the couch and squishing Adrien in a giant group hug. They all babbled at him at the same time, ensuring him that they loved him and that they always would.

It took Adrien a while to detach himself from the hug, but he didn't look quite as upset once he did. "Thanks, guys."

"So, what do you need our help with?" Chloé asked, once they'd all sat back down.

"I said you guys are 'about' the only loved ones I've got left; I need your help to find the other one."

They stared at him in silent confusion.

"Did you…lose them?" Nino asked at length.

Adrien shook his head. "I never knew who she was to begin with, but now she's gone."

"Oh, like an internet friend?" Alya lit up in comprehension. "They might be hard to track down, but I can put something on the Ladyblog—"

He shook his head again. "No, she wasn't an internet friend. She was a real-life friend. She was _everything_ to me, and a loved her—I still love her—and now she's gone."

Adrien's composure was rapidly declining, and he put his head in his hands to try and pull himself together.

"Whoa, dude," Nino said, staring at his best friend in surprise.

Marinette could relate to that. Her own feelings aside, how could they have missed that Adrien was in love with someone? And why would that someone just disappear on him?! Especially right now, when Adrien needed her the most?!

"It's okay," the DJ continued, hopping up to put a comforting hand on Adrien's shoulder. "We'll help you find the girl. Promise. What's her name?"

Adrien slowly lifted his head. With a shuddering voice, he said, "It's Ladybug."

It—what?

"Huh?" Marinette, Alya, Nino and Chloé chorused.

Marinette had to try hard not to gape at him. She was the one Adrien was looking for? And did he just say he _loved_ her?!

"I need to talk to Ladybug," Adrien said.

" _Why_?" Marinette couldn't help but ask.

Chloé gave another scoff of derision. "Duh, Marinette, it's because he loves her! He just said that."

Adrien shook his head. "No, that's not it. Well, it's part of it."

 _He loved her_?! What?! The revelation sent her heart pounding. Oh god, could they hear that? How were you supposed to react when the person you liked returned your feelings? How were you supposed to react when you sent said person's Father to prison?

Just— _what_?

"I just—she'd the only one who'll understand. She was there when Father—when he—"

"Do you need us to find Chat Noir, too?" Alya asked.

"No," Adrien responded immediately. "I don't need him."

"Why not?" Marinette asked, feeling defensive of her partner. "He was there too. Ladybug wouldn't be able to do _anything_ without Chat Noir—"

"I put my Father in jail," he interrupted, looking wretched. "We fought him and he struck Ladybug across the face with his cane and I wanted to _hurt him_. I wanted to lash out. I didn't though, not yet." Adrien looked close to tears. "We had a plan, we stuck to the plan, and we won…but we lost."

No one said a word, and Marinette couldn't breathe.

Because Adrien knew things he shouldn't know. No one else was there during the fight, no one else was there unless…

 _Oh, my poor Chaton_ , Marinette thought.

"No way," Alya broke the silence, looking a strange mix of shocked, excited, and sorry for Adrien's situation. "Are you saying that…" She trailed off, unable to voice the conclusion she'd come to.

"Dude," Nino hovered next to Adrien, his hand slipping off his shoulder in surprise. "You're…you're…"

Chloé frowned at her childhood friend, her expression thoughtful. "What was the subject of the homework I tried to make Chat Noir do when Nathaniel was akumatised? No one else but me and him would know that."

"Physics," Adrien replied, looking at them all; his eyes were begging them to believe him. "I—I said it was my favourite subject."

They all turned to Chloé expectantly.

"He's right," she said.

"Adrien!" Nino cried, once again flying at his best friend in a hug. "Adrien, oh my god!"

Held in the arms of his best friend, the last of Adrien's composure the was lost. They watched as he sobbed into Nino's shoulder, holding onto the DJ tightly, as if he was afraid he would disappear.

Watching Adrien—Chat—her best friend—looking so broken, made Marinette start crying herself. She needed to fix this. She needed to tell him.

"We had to give up the power of our miraculouses," Adrien said through his tears. "They've gone dormant." He looked down at the ever-present silver ring that was on his hand. "We can't transform. The creatures that give us power are stuck inside the miraculouses, but they're dormant. That's why the ring looks normal. We can't transform, and we don't know who each other are under the masks. I've been going to the place we first met every day, trying to find her. Or to any of the places we used to hang out on patrol, but people keep recognising me. They keep asking me questions about my Father, or about how I feel, and I can never stay there for long. I just—I just want to find her."

Alya and Chloé moved to hug him as well.

"We'll help you find your partner, Sunshine," the blogger assured him.

"I'll get my Father to send out whole search parties," Chloé added. "We'll find her, Adrikins."

Adrien wipes his eyes. "Thank you."

Marinette rose to her feet, tears running freely down her face.

"Whoa, girl, are you okay?" Alya asked, concerned.

The designer didn't reply. Instead, she gently pulled Adrien away from the group hug he found himself in.

"Marinette, are you alright?" Adrien asked, as if he wasn't the one who was in tears moments before. She should have known he was her Chat Noir; both Adrien and Chat were too kind for their own good.

"We had a plan, we stuck to the plan, and we won," she said, echoing his words from earlier. "But you're right: we lost, too."

Realisation was slowly dawning on Adrien's face. "Marinette," he murmured, "are you…?"

"The plan failed and we had to use the backup plan. The one Tikki and Plagg told us about, but we didn't want to do. We lost them and we lost each other, but I'm right here. I'm right here, _Chaton_."

"You're…"

"I can prove it!" She said earnestly, determined to make him believe her. She would just have to tell him things only Ladybug would know. "When we first met, I fell out of the sky and crashed into you. We got tangled up in my yoyo and you called me Miss Maladroit. When I didn't think I was cut out to be a superheroine, you said that I was. You told me to trust you, and I always have. You call me _Buginette_ , even when I tell you not to, but I actually really like that name. You once said ten cat puns in one sentence and I'm still not sure how you managed it and—"

"My Lady!"

Adrien pulled her in for a hug, burying his face in her shoulder. Marinette could feel him shaking in her arms and she began to rub soothing circles on his back. "It's okay, _Chaton_ ," she said soothingly. "It's okay. We found each other."

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry, my Lady."

She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

He pulled away from her, only far enough to look her in the face. "But you _are_. You're here, aren't you?"

"I'm still sorry you had to go through all that."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not."

"Maybe it isn't, but now that I know I haven't lost you, it feels like everything's going to be."

"I'm giving up my dream of journalism!" Alya announced to the room, startling the pair of them out of the little bubble they were in.

Oh right. There was other people with them.

"The pair of you!" Alya continued. "The freaking _pair of you_! You're my classmates, my _friends_ , and I never noticed it! Some journalist I am!"

"I cosplayed as _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_?"

"Duuuuuuuuuuudes."

Alya, Nino and Chloé were looking at them in varying states of surprise.

"Urgh, I have to go home and burn the costume," Chloé said.

"We're on a truce," Alya reminded her.

"My Ladybug cosplay didn't agree to any truce."

"In your defence, this one thought you were me for a moment," Marinette put in, gesturing at Adrien. "So the cosplay was convincing."

"For, like, a minute!" He protested.

"You know what? I'm going to take that," Chloé said. " _Chat Noir_ thought I was Ladybug."

"A _minute_!" Adrien repeated. "Not even that."

"Thanks, Adrikins!"

He sighed. "You're gonna hold this against me forever, aren't you?"

Chloé laughed. "You mean like how you would let me dress you up as a princess when we were five?"

"Oh my god, do you have pictures of that?" Alya asked, looking excitedly at Chloé.

"Please tell me you do!" Nino added.

Chloé held up her phone. "I even have them on here."

"Actual Disney Princess, Adrien Agreste," Marinette laughed.

Adrien turned from where their other friends were excitedly crowded around Chloé's phone. "How about Actual Superheroine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

"She'd be nothing without her partner."

"He'd be nothing without her."

"Good thing they've got each other, then."

Adrien blushed. "I missed you," he confessed. "I couldn't find you and I missed you."

"I missed you, too," she said, taking his hand. "We'll get Tikki and Plagg back. They won't stay dormant in the miraculous forever."

"And until then?"

Marinette looked over to where Chloé was now sending photos to an eager Alya and Nino. "We've got our friends," she said. "And, well, you've always got a home with me, Adrien."

"Thank you, Princess."

She smiled at Chat's familiar nickname for her. They'd found each other, despite everything that had happened. She had felt guilty and lost before she'd arrived at Adrien's place that day; now she felt at ease and complete for the first time in days.

Adrien was right: the situation they found themselves in wasn't an ideal one, but with them together, it could be. Therefore, it only seemed natural that went he leant in towards her, she reached up to meet him, her eyes fluttering closed.

And if Alya, Nino and Chloé started screaming and taking pictures…well, she couldn't find it in herself to care.


End file.
